Eyer protector



(No Model.)

B. R. WYLIE.

EYE PROTECTOR.

Patented Oct. 5,1897.

INVENT R: yczafi WITN 5551: 5:

% W; {I W.

way as to closely fit over the eye.

ELLA ROSALIND WYLIE, OF

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

EYE-1 PROTECTO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591 ,244, dated October 5, 1897.

Application filed March 25, 1 897.

To all whom, it may concern! Be it known that I, ELLA ROSALIND WYLIE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Eye Protectors or Shields, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation tooptics, and has for its object to provide a hygienic protector or shield which will cover a diseased eye so as to entirely exclude the rays of light therefrom and protect it from wind and dust.

IIeretofore protectors for the eyehave been generally made of some material, as cardboard, covered with silk and shapedin such In many diseases of the eye it is essential that the protector should be held over the eye to exclude the rays of light therefrom without heating the eye and thereby inducing or increasing inflammation of the tissues; but as heretofore constructed I have found that the protectors have not only been of no material benefit to the eye, but have actually increased the disease by overheating the eye andpreventing the free discharge of the physiological or pathological secretions.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a shield or protector which will fit closely over the eye to guard it against the entrance of the light-rays and particles of dust, and which will be also so formed or shaped as to afford free ventilation for the eye, and at the same time provide for the discharge of tears or other secretions.

To this end my invention consists of a protector formed of some suitable light material, preferably aluminium, covered with fabric and shaped to provide for the entrance of air and discharge of secretions at its lower edge and for the discharge of air at points near its upper edge, all as I shall now proceed to describe with particularity, and point out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 shows in perspective a patient wearing one of my improved Serial Np. 629,199. (No model.)

shields or protectors. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rear face of the shield or protector,showing the peculiar curvature or conformation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view looking at the upper edge of theproteotor. 4 shows a cross-section of the protector with the edges resting upon the nose and the cheek.

Preferably the shield or protector is formed, as I have previously stated, of a plate a of aluminium,which is ductile metal covered on both sides by a fabric 5, such as silk or any antiseptic material, and held in place by an elastic band or strap, as at 9. Its npper straight edge e is curved to fit closely against the forehead slightly above the supra-orbital ridge, as shown in ,Fig. 1, and it extends downward for a sufficient distance to entirely exclude rays of light, wind, and particles of dust from the eye, being semielliptical in shape.

The lower edge of the protector is preferably semicircular and the outer edges are curved rearwardly from the converging lines 3 4t and 4 i in Fig. 2, so that the side edges d 03 may rest against the nasal and the maler bones, respectively, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and thus provide an open passageway e at the lower edge of the protector for the free admission of air.

The edges ff at the side of the protector, near the upper end thereof, are bent outwardly to form discharge apertures or ducts for the air which enters in the aperture 6 and which is heated by contact with the eye, so that a perfect circulation of air between the eye and the shield is secured. Thus it will be seen thatthe eye is covered by the protector, so as to exclude the rays of light, the wind, and par-' rendered strong enough to prevent the eye from being injured, and is at the same time very light, so as to give the wearer no mate- Fig.

rial discomfort, and is rendered sufficiently ductile to enable it to be fitted to the particular wearer.

I prefer to employ a covering of black silk for the protector, but I may, if desired, employ any fabric which has been suitably treated so as to render it antiseptic.

While I have shown but a shield or protector which is adapted to cover one eye, it may be 3 having its lower side edges curved to closely fit the cheek and one side of the nose, the center of the lower edge being bent outward to provide a relatively narrow passage or airinlet between the shield and the face of the wearer, and the upper portions of the two side edges being bent to provide relatively narrow passages or air-outlets above the eye of the wearer.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day of March, A. D. 1897.

ELLA ROSALIND WYLIE.

Witnesses:

J OSEPH B. ESMOND, HENRY B. ESTABROOK. 

